The Vow
by theboyfriend-and-theprettygirl
Summary: Elena Gilbert wakes up from a coma with no memories of her present day life. Will her memories ever resurface? Damon Salvatore is on a mission: if he can't make his wife remember him, he'll have to find a way to make her fall in love with him ALL OVER AGAIN. But that is proving trickier than had once thought...especially when Elena only has eyes for someone else [Delena AU story]


**Title: **Damon and Elena: Twin Flames

**Summary**: Elena Gilbert wakes up from a coma with no memories of her present day life. Dazed and confused she tries to piece her old life back together. Damon Salvatore is on a mission: if he can't make his wife remember him, he'll have to find a way to make her fall in love with him all over again. But that is proving trickier than had once thought...especially when Elena only has eyes for someone else. [Delena AU story]

**Disclaimer/ Note from the author: ** Hey my beautiful DEfamily! This is my FIRST Delena AU story, so I really hope you enjoy it! A few QUICK things that you need to know

1) This is inspired by the movie _THE VOW _and well also by Elena's lack of memories for Damon (due to the S6 compulsion).

2) All characters are human. So no vampires, werewolves, witches, hybrids, doppelgangers...you get the drill ;)

3) This story is going to be ANGST CENTRAL! So its going to get a lot worse before it get better...you have been warned in advance :p

Please let me know what you think in the form of a review and I'll do my best to update this fic frequently! Enjoy! All my love, Paris xox

**Date Published: **11 November 20114

© theboyfriend-and-theprettygirl, 2014

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><p><span>Chapter One: She's Awake<span>

_"Mr Salvatore." _

Damon groaned a little and shifted his body weight on the uncomfortable couch he was sleeping on.

_"Mr Salvatore."_ The same persistent voice repeated, shaking him gently and this time breaking him out of his sleep.

He opened his groggy eyes slowly, squinting at the bright lights of the hospital and waited for a clear enough image of the woman who had woken him to come into view.

"I'm sorry to wake you." she cooed.

Damon quickly hurried to his feet. "No, it's fine Doctor. _How is she doing?_"

"She's waking up." she said smiling. "I thought you would like to be awake for this."

Damon quickly glanced over to Elena's hospital bed in the center of the room. Tears immediately filled his tired eyes. For the first time in six months, there was moment. He watched as she slowly flickered her eyes open and close.

_She was okay. _He breathed a sigh of relief and headed over towards her.

"Elena..." he said, reaching out for her hand to squeeze it gently and then quickly bringing it to his lips to kiss it. "Elena, you scared me."

"Mr Salvatore, a word." the Doctor said touching his shoulder gently and heading over to the corner of the room once more.

"She is going to be ok, right? She's finally waking up, so at least we are through the worst of it."

"Mr Salvatore..."

"Please, call me Damon."

The Doctor smiled politely. "Damon, your wife appears to be responding...she is slowly coming out of the induced comatosed state that we put her in six months ago. However, we need to tread lightly now, so I have to ask that we don't bombard her with too much information...she's going to be groggy- _really groggy_. Things will not make any sense to her. She will not remember why she is in here. She might not be able to respond to things you say for awhile. There might also be slight temporary memory loss or she might have difficulty adjusting to the pain...every patient responds differently when they awake from a coma, so let's give her some space, okay?"

Damon nodded. "How soon before I can get her home?"

"We will need to run some more tests on her first. Nothing too serious, just a few MRIs and CT Scans to check on her brain activity and to make sure that all the swelling has gone down. After that, if the tests come back favourably, she will be good to go."

"Mmmm.." Elena groaned loudly, making them both turn their attention back to her.

Damon rushed quickly back to Elena's side and smiled lovingly at her. He wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss her; to take her into his arms in a sweet embrace, and to tell her exactly _how much_ she had scared him- but the Doctor was right. _She needed some space._ He couldn't even begin to imagine how daunting it must have been for her right now waking up in an unfamiliar place...all the pain that she must be feeling...not knowing why she was even here to begin with.

"Wh-wh- where am I?" she slurred.

"Elena...it's Doctor Stevens. You're in the hospital. You were in a car accident. You hit your head pretty badly, but you are okay now. We just kept you asleep in an induced coma for a little while to let your body try to repair itself without causing any unnecessary stress to your brain."

"How are you feeling?" Damon asked softly.

"My head hurts."

"That's a pretty normal response. I'll go and find you something _strong_ to help with the pain."

"So...you_ scared_ me." Damon said, when the Doctor was out of the room. "Don't ever do that again."

"Why are you here?" Elena asked looking directly at him, with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Very funny, Elena." he said, rolling his eyes playfully. "I was worried _sick _about you. It's nice to know that you didn't lose your sense of humor."

"No." she said shaking her head quickly. "Why are _you _here? Where's Stefan?"

"I'm guessing he's at home." Damon said forcing a fake smile. "Why?"

"You don't think its _strange_ that you are here and not my..." she said trailing off quietly.

"Not your?" he repeated, pressing her to finish her sentence. The truth was he could already tell by now where this conversation was headed and he was dreading its outcome, but a small part of him still had hope that it all just a practical joke that she was playing on him to scare him..

"My boyfriend." she said frowning. "Why are you here and not Stefan?"

_My boyfriend. _The words hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity before he could even muster up the courage to respond. All the hopes he had for Elena playing a practical joke on him vanished quickly. She wasn't joking. Or lying.

_She was confused. _

_But if she honestly believed that Stefan was her boyfriend...then she didn't know that they were..._ Damon stopped his brain from going there. It was too painful and depressing to even think of the possibility that his wife could not remember their life together.

_"Boyfriend?_" Damon scoffed quickly. "Elena...you know who I am to you, right?"

"Yes, you're Damon Salvatore. Stefan's brother." she said slowly.

"No, I mean...you know that I'm your _husband, _right?" he asked, with a hint of agony in his voice.

"What?!" she exclaimed loudly. "No. No. No...I'm with Stefan, Damon."

"Elena, you and Stefan broke up _years_ ago..." he said softly.

"No. No. No." she said shaking her head in disagreement. "Where's Stefan? I need to see Stefan!"

"Elena..."

"Why would we break up?" she mumbled quietly to herself, as if to rack her brain to remember the reason.

"Because you fell in love with me." Damon said, smiling painfully.

"That's not possible." she said, snapping up her head quickly and looking him directly in the eyes. "I loved Stefan. I _love _Stefan."

"Elena...you broke up with Stefan while you were in high school."

"_While I was in high school?" _she scoffed, laughing loudly. "Damon, I'm still in school! What are you talking about?"

"No you're not." he growled a little. Fighting with her was starting to make him lose his patience.

"You're delusional." she spat. "I want to see Stefan."

"And _you _have obviously hit your head a little too hard and forgotten things about the present."_  
><em>

Elena narrowed her eyes. "I would _never_ marry you." she said shaking her head from side to side. "I have always wanted to marry Stefan. I would never do that to my boyfriend."

"Newsflash: Elena...you are not with Stefan anymore and you are definitely not in high school either! And for the record, we did get married. You're wearing a wedding ring and here's mine." he said holding up his finger, to show her his wedding band. "So spoiler alert: you married me."

"Elena..I have something for the pain-" Doctor Stevens said, re-entering the room. "What's going on here?"

"Elena seems to have forgotten that I am her husband." Damon said forcing a smile.

"He's lying to me. I would never marry him. I am in love with his brother!" she cried out quickly.

"Mr Salvatore, can I please see you outside?"

-x-

"I understand what you are going through, Mr Salvatore...but arguing with her is not going to make the experience any less traumatic for her...or for you." Dr Stevens said solemnly. "You need to be patient and give her some space while she tries to comprehend what's going on."

"She thinks she's _still_ in high school!" Damon exclaimed loudly, before running a hand through his hair. "She graduated almost ten years ago!"

"I understand your frustration but-"

"Do you?" he snapped quickly, cutting her off suddenly. "Because the love of my life is in there, telling me that she's still a high school student who is madly in love with her high school sweetheart-_ who happens to be my brother_- and has no recollection that we ever got married in the first place! So no, I don't think you understand my frustration, Doc."

"Look, Damon..." Doctor Stevens said touching his shoulder gently. "Every head trauma patient is different. Sometimes due to the way the swelling tissue presses against the skull it can cause some impairment-"

"Some impairment?" he repeated sarcastically. "She doesn't remember me!"

"She remembers your name...that's a start. That's a good sign, considering that other patients suffer from complete memory loss."

"SHE DOESN'T REMEMBER THAT SHE'S MY WIFE!" Damon yelled loudly. "She doesn't remember that we dated... or that she_ loved_ me...or that we got married."

"Even though she's awake, the swelling can cause some confusion..or memory loss...or erratic mood swings but that's normal-"

"Normal...is my wife remembering that we love each other. Nothing is going to be normal until she has those memories back." he said before storming out of the hospital.

-x-

"Doctor Stevens..."

"Yes, Elena." she said shutting her chart and putting back at the end of her bed.

"Will my memories ever come back?" Elena asked painfully. "I didn't want to believe him..._Damon..._that I had graduated high school or that I had broken up with his brother. And I sure as hell, did not want to believe that I _married_ him...but I'm wearing a ring that's engraved '_Damon and Elena: __Twin flames'. _Now, I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Judging by your condition, it appears that you are suffering from temporary memory loss. I will have to do some more scans before I come to the final conclusion, but I believe you might have a form of Retrograde Amnesia. It basically means that your memories created prior to the event, in this case, your car accident are lost while new memories can still be created. The scans will show if there is any is damage to the frontal or anterior temporal regions...the area of the brain where the memory loss occurs."

"But how- _how_ can I have memory loss but still remember things like my name and Damon being Stefan's brother? It doesn't make any sense."

"Patients are more likely to lose _recent_ memories that are closer to the traumatic incident, than say more remote memories like what it was like while you were at school. In your case, you don't remember marrying your husband and the swelling tissue in your brain- that's what is repressing your memories- is causing you to forget everything that has happened to you since high school."

"Will I ever get my memories back?"

"We will be monitoring you, Elena but until we run some more scans, we won't know the full extent of the damage." Doctor Stevens said sighing heavily. "Every head trauma patient is different but there is still a good chance that you will be able to recover most, if not all of your memories. Before we discharge you home, we will go over a few things that you can do to trigger your memories...its basically things like looking at photo albums or recordings of yourself. Your husband might have a video recording of your wedding reception...maybe you can try watching that? Going back to places like your home or work, may also work...something there might just jog your memories."

Elena forced a smile and bit down hard onto her bottom lip to keep her from crying.

"I have other patients to attend to Elena, but I will check on you before the end of my shift."

"Doctor Stevens, before you go..." she called out, stopping the Doctor in the entrance of her room. "Was he here everyday? _Damon?" _

"He never left your side." she said smiling.

-x-

"What do you mean she doesn't remember breaking up with Stefan?" Caroline Forbes hissed over the phone.

"It means that she thinks they are still together, barbie keep up." Damon growled, rolling his eyes.

"But- but she married _you!" _

"No shit, Sherlock! You think I didn't try that approach with her when she got out of her comatose state?"

"Look, Damon you are going to have to find a way to tell her that she is _no longer _with Stefan, before things get really awkward!"

"Geez, why on earth didn't I think of that? Oh wait, I did!" he said sarcastically. "Seriously Caroline, are you going to give me some better suggestions than that? Or should I speak to your beloved husband and _really _make things awkward for us."

"You can't tell Stefan." Caroline snapped quickly. "If Elena doesn't remember loving you or marrying you...then she might_ still_ be in love with Stefan. Oh my God, what if she wants him back?"

"Bingo."

"Oh my goodness, she is totally going to hate me for marrying him!" she shrieked loudly.

"Exactly...hence the reason why you need to help me make my wife fall in love with me _all over_ again."

"I don't think I can."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't understand why she married you in the first place." she teased playfully.

"Now is not the time to be making jokes, little barbie."

"You've got to admit that it was funny though, right?"

"I should go and check on her now. Promise me that if you come to visit tonight, you will leave Stefan and the kids at home. I don't want to upset her."

"And I don't want to have any awkward conversations so you have nothing to worry about." she replied in agreement. "Good luck, Damon."

"For what?" he asked, frowning a little.

"For trying to make her fall in love with you all over again. I know it must not be easy watching the woman you love, not remember how _crazy_ about you she was. I figured you could use it."

"Thanks Care. Say hi to Stefan and the kids for me. I'll see you later tonight." he said before ending the call.

"Damon?" a voice behind him called out, making him turn around quickly. "She's awake? How is she doing? Can we go and see her?"

Damon pulled Jeremy in for a tight hug. "She's doing okay." he said forcing a smile, when they had pulled apart. "She has some slight memory loss but the doctors still need to run a few scans to see the full extent of the damage."

"Memory loss?" he asked frowning.

"Don't worry, she will remember you. She just has trouble remembering that I'm her husband and that she's no longer dating Stefan Salvatore."

"What?"

"I'll fill you in on the way. Come, I'll take you to her."

"Thanks for calling me." Jeremy said as they made their way towards the entrance to the hospital.

-x-

"It doesn't make any sense, Jer!" Elena exclaimed. "The last thing I remember is being in Alaric's history class and making eyes at Stefan."

Jeremy sighed heavily. "Elena, you _love _Damon."  
><span>

"No, I don't."

"Elena, you've _always _loved Damon!"

"No. No. Jer, _you_ of all people should know _what _Stefan meant to me...what he _means_ to me..."

"I did. Once, but that was before you fell for Damon."

Elena ran her hands through her hair and closed her eyes. "How could I fall in love with the man that I hated? How could I do that to Stefan? I _loved _Stefan."

"I know you did. You loved him so much that you _put off_ breaking up with him when you realized that you had feelings for his brother, just so you couldn't hurt him."

"No." she cried out, shaking her head as tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"Elena, I don't know how else to tell you this but..._you love Damon_. You married him because he is your soulmate, okay? You told me that once, when I was trying to grasp why you were breaking up with Stefan...because trust me when I say this, everyone had a problem with your break up...Caroline, Bonnie, Alaric. But you fell in love with Damon when you were still with Stefan."

"No. I was faithful to Stefan."

"I know you were, but your heart wanted Damon and eventually it won. I know you don't remember much now and it must be so hard to try and wrap your head around everything that you're learning but, I have faith in you and Damon. You fell in love with him once, Elena. I know you will fall in love with him again." he said taking her hand and squeezing it a little.

"I don't know, Jer." she mumbled softly.

"Look, enough about things you can't remember. Can I tell you how much I've missed having my big sister around to tell me off?" he said before wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace. "You scared me...You scared us, all. Please don't ever do that to us again!"

-xx-

**Author's Note:**

That's chapter one. I hope you all liked it and I hope I get positive reviews asking me to continue this because I have some big plans for this story ;) Love it? Hate it? Bring on the angsty Delena scenes? Please let me know what you thought and I will update as soon as I can ;)

(PS First attempt at writing an AU Delena fic, so I hope it was enjoyable!)

Paris xo


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